Advanced topics in archaeological theory and methods (PHD801)

The course is designed to provide an overview of current theories and methods in archaeological research and will give the students an advanced understanding of how theoretical frameworks and methodology are implemented in research projects.

Although the course will focus on current theory, the overall aim is to give them a practical understanding of how theory and methodology together play into theoretical research design.

The underpinnings of the theoretical approach and methodologies will be examined to give the students knowledge of the traditions that theories and methods stem from, as well as their epistemological anchoring in either the humanities, natural science or social sciences.

The teachers will present research literature that covers the main topics and

The course covers topics such as:

• The material turn
• The ontological turn
• Actor-network theory and châine operatoire
• Personhood
• The biographical perspective
• Feminist critique
• Sensory archaeology

Knowledge

After completing the course the students should:

• Have an advanced understanding of the current theories used in archaeological research

Skills

After completing the course the students should:

• Have an advanced understanding of the implementation of appropriate methods considering the theoretical approach
• Evaluate which theories and methods that are applicable on different archaeological datasets
• Be able to formulate new research questions that integrate a theoretical understanding with a methodological implementation
• Be able to formulate a theoretical platform that integrates methods and datasets in an appropriate way and to an international standard
• Be able to create an operational theoretical framework that encompasses appropriate methodology

General competence

After completing the course the students should:

• Understand how research is situated within a research field in archaeology and the ramification that the different fields operate within.
• Be able to identify the underpinnings and scientific traditions of theories and methods.
• Be able to engage in academic discourse on advanced theory and methodology within archaeology, both orally and in writing.

Participants must be enrolled in a PhD programme.

Fagperson(er)

Course coordinator:

Astrid Johanne Nyland

A combination of lectures, articles presented by teachers and students and classroom discussions.

Coursework requirements

Students need to attend a one-week on-campus study programme. Presence is mandatory (MP). Mandatory requirements: 75% presence. If students do not fulfil the MP requirement, students will have to pass an assignment given by the course coordinators in order to take the course exam.

The course is open to interested PhD candidates at the University of Stavanger and other universities. Single Course Admission to PhD-Courses.

There must be an early dialogue between the course supervisor, the student union representative and the students. The purpose is feedback from the students for changes and adjustments in the course for the current semester.In addition, a digital subject evaluation must be carried out at least every three years. Its purpose is to gather the students experiences with the course.

Book Archaeological theory in the new millennium : introducing current perspectives Harris, Oliver J.T., Cipolla, Craig N., London, Routledge, XVI, 238 sider, 2017, isbn:978-1-138-88871-5; 978-1-138-88870-8, Article Worlds otherwise. Archaeology, anthropology and ontological difference Alberti, B., S. Fowles, M. Holbraad, Y. Marshall and C. Whitmore, Current Anthropology, 6, 52, 2011, 896-912, Article On the Fringe: Sheepdogs and Their Status within Bronze Age Ontologies in Scandinavia Armstrong Oma, K., Current Swedish Archaeology, 28, 2020, 99-120, Article Multiple Ontologies and the Problem of the Body in History Harris, O. J. T. & Robb, J., American Anthropologist, 4, 114, 2012, 668-679, Article Divergent Ways of Relating to the Past in the Viking Age Lund, J., & Arwill-Nordbladh, E, European Journal of Archaeology, 3, 19, 2016, 415-438, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-journal-of-archaeology/article/divergent-ways-of-relating-to-the-past-in-the-viking-age/E5D8A94CAFFA7D29C493CC1AC39DB8D6View online Book Chapter Death, memory and material culture: catalytic commemoration and the cremated dead Williams, H., Tarlow, Sarah; Stutz, Liv Nilsson, Death, memory and material culture: catalytic commemoration and the cremated dead, Oxford, Oxford University Press, XIX, 849 s., 2013, 195-208, isbn:9780199569069, Article Small Things Forgotten Now Included, or What Else Do Things Deserve? Pétursdóttir, Þ., International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 16, 2012, 577-603, Article . ‘Rock-art’, ‘Animism’ and Two-way Thinking: Towards a Complementary Epistemology in the Understanding of Material Culture and ‘Rock-art’ of Hunting and Gathering People Porr, M., and H. R. Bell, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 19, 2012, 161-205, Article Toward Active Reflexivity: Positionality and Practice in the Production of Knowledge Soedirgo, J., and A. Glas, PS: Political Science and Politics, 53, 2020, 527-531, Article Alternative narratives and the Ethics of Representation Dyke, Ruth M. and Bernbeck, Reinhard, 2015, Article Thinking through story Archaeology and narratives Martin Porr & Mathews, J., HUnter Gatherer Research, 2, 2016-10, Article EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY AT THE CROSSROADS A contribution to interpretation or evidence of 'xeroxing'? Martin Bell, Material evidence: Learning from material practice, 42, 2014, Article Waus of enchanting_Chaînes Opératoires and Yam Cultivation in Nyamikum Village, Maprik, Papua New Guinea Coupaye, L., Journal of material culture, 2009, Article Archaeologies of technology Marcia-Anne Dobres, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 34, 2010-01-01, 103-114, Article Reinvigorating object biography: reproducing the drama of object lives Jody Joy, World Archaeology, 41, 2009-12, Article A Sensory Update to the Chaine Operatoire Journal of Archaeological method and theory, 3, 25, 2018, Article Towards a New Paradigm? The Third Science Revolution and its Possible Consequences in Archaeology Kristiansen, K., Current Swedish Archaeology, 22, 2014-12-28, Article Science, theory and archaeology in Britain: a minimalist view of the debate Peter Rowle y -Conw y, Archaeologia Polona, 39, 2001, 66-1924, Article The Two Cultures and a World Apart: Archaeology and Science at a New Crossroads Tim Flohr Sørensen, Norwegian Archaeological Review, 50, 2017-07-03, Article Environmental determinism and archaeology. Understanding and evaluating determinism in research design V. P. J. Arponen, Walter Dörfler, Ingo Feeser, Sonja Grimm, Daniel Groß, Martin Hinz, Daniel Knitter, Nils Müller-Scheeßel, Konrad Ott and Artur Ribeiro, Archaeological Dialogues, 26, 2019-06, Article Firewood, food and human niche construction: the potential role of Mesolithic hunteregatherers in actively structuring Scotland's woodlands Rosie R. Bishop , Mike J. Church, Peter A. Rowley-Conwy, Quartenary Science Review, 108, 2015-01, Book Chapter Foraging and Farming as niche construction Rowley-Conwy and Layton, Rowley-Conwy and Layton, Foraging and Farming as niche construction, 11-26, Article Low-Level Food Production Bruce D. Smith, Journal of Archaeological Research, 1, 9, 2001, Book Archaeology: The Discipline of Things Olsen, Shanks, Webmore, Witmore, Preface og 3 first chapters, 2012, Article Paradigm Lost: What Is a Commitment to Theory in Contemporary Archaeology? Gavin Lucas & Christopher Witmore, Norwegian Archaeological Review, 55, 2022-01-02, Article How Archaeological Evidence Bites Back: Strategies for Putting Old Data to Work in New Ways Alison Wylie, Technology and Human Values, 42, 2017-03, Book Chapter Introduction Conneller, C., Introduction, 1-23, Article Reassessing power in the archaeological discourse. How collective, cooperative and affective perspectives may impact our understanding of social relations and organization in prehistory Julie Lund, Martin Furholt and Knut Ivar Austvoll, Archaeological Dialogues, 29, 2022-06, Article Hillforts in prehistoric Ireland: a costly display of power? James O'Driscoll, World Archaeology, 49, 2017-08-08, Book Chapter “And Make Some Other Man Our King” Bettina Arnold, “And Make Some Other Man Our King”, 106-124, isbn:978-1-316-51539-6; 978-1-00-904576-6, Article War between neighbours: the archaeology of internal conflict and civil war Alfredo González-Ruibal, World Archaeology, 51, 2019-10-20, Book Chapter Walking in someone else's shoes Archaeology, empathy and fiction Daniël van Helden and Robert Witcher, Daniël van Helden and Robert Witcher, Walking in someone else's shoes Archaeology, empathy and fiction, 109-127, Article Archaeology and fiction Margaret Elphinstone 1 & Caroline Wickham-Jones 2, ANTIQUITY, 1-6, Article How dogs dream: Amazonian natures and the politics of transspecies engagement Kohn, E., American Ethnologist, 1, 34, 2007, 3-24, Article Cosmological deixies and Amerindian perspectivism Viveiros de Castro, E., The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 3, 4, 1998, 469-488, Book Chapter Chapter 1 Jones, A., Jones, Andrew, Chapter 1, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, XIII, 258 s., 2007, isbn:9780521837088; 0521837081; 9780521545518, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.uis.no/lib/uisbib/detail.action?docID=325988View online Article Reinvigorating object biography: reproducing the drama of object lives Joy, J., World Archaeology, 4, 41, 2009, 540-556, Article Echoes of the Past: Women, Memories and Disc-on-Bow Brooches in Vendel- and Viking-period Scandinavia Glørstad, Z., & Røstad, I., European Journal of Archaeology, 1, 24, 2021, 89-107, Article Archaeology, process and time: beyond history versus memory Harris O. J. T., World Archaeology, 2021, 1-18, https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2021.1963833View online Article Archaeology and fiction Elphinstone, M., and C. Wickham-Jones, Antiquity, 332, 86, 2012, 1-6, Book Making : anthropology, archaeology, art and architecture Ingold, Tim, London, Routledge, XII, 163 s., 2013, isbn:9780415567220; 9780415567237, Article Changing perceptions of rock art: storying prehistoric worlds Nyland, A. J., and H. Stebergløkken, World Archaeology, 1, 53, 2021, Book Chapter Experimental archaeology and (re)-experiencing the senses of the medieval world O’Neill, B., & O’Sullivan, A., Skeates, Robin; Day, Jo, Experimental archaeology and (re)-experiencing the senses of the medieval world, Abingdon, Routledge, XVIII, 576, 16 unummererte sider med plansjer, [2019], 451-466, isbn:9781138676299, Book Chapter Skilled production and social reproduction in prehistory and contemporary archaeology: a personal exegesis on dominant themes and their psychosocial influences Dobres M. A., Apel, Jan; Knutsson, Kjel, Skilled production and social reproduction in prehistory and contemporary archaeology: a personal exegesis on dominant themes and their psychosocial influences, Uppsala, Societas Archaeologica Upsaliensis, 453 s., 2006, 25-33, isbn:9197374067, Book Chapter Indigenous alterity as archaeological praxis Montgomery, L. M., Crellin, Rachel, Cipolla, Craig N.; Montgomery, Lindsay M.; Harris, Oliver J.T.; Moore, Sophie V., Indigenous alterity as archaeological praxis, London New York; London New York, Routledge Taylor & Francis group, xiv, 235 sider, 2021, 51-66, isbn:9780367135478; 9780367135454, Book Chapter Introduction Marsh, E. J., & Ferguson, J. R., Ferguson, Jeffrey R.,, Introduction, Boulder, Colo. :, University Press of Colorado, 1 online resource (281 p.), c2010., 1-12, isbn:1-60732-023-1, Article Stone Dead: Uncovering Early Mesolithic Mortuary Rites, Hermitage, Ireland Aimée Little, Annelou van Gijn, Tracy Collins, Gabriel Cooney, Ben Elliott, Bernard Gilhooly, Sophy Charlton & Graeme Warren, Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 27, 2017-05, Article Mesolithic Cross-crafting Experiments with the production of bone blanks Mansrud, Anja, Primitive Tider, 2023, Article Reduction Sequence, Chaîne Opératoire, and Other Methods Soressi and Geneste, paleoAnthropology, 2011, 2011, Article Does environmental archaeology need an ethical promise? Felix Riede, Per Andersen & Neil Price, World Archaeology, 48, 2016-08-07, Document The Rede Lecture 1959; The Two Cultures Snow, CP, Article Agricultural innovation and resilience in a long-lived early farming community: the 1,500-year sequence at Neolithic to early Chalcolithic Çatalhöyük, central Anatolia Amy Bogaard, Dragana Filipović, Andrew Fairbairn, Laura Green, Elizabeth Stroud, Dorian Fuller and Michael Charles, Anatolian studies, 67, 2017, Article Reconsidering domestication from a process archaeology perspective Amy Bogaard, Robin Allaby, Benjamin S. Arbuckle, Robin Bendrey, Sarah Crowley, Thomas Cucchi, Tim Denham, Laurent Frantz, Dorian Fuller, Tom Gilbert, Elinor Karlsson, Aurélie Manin, Fiona Marshall, Natalie Mueller, Joris Peters, Charles Stépanoff, Alexander Weide & Greger Larson Amy Bogaard, Robin Allaby, Benjamin S. Arbuckle, Robin Bendrey, Sarah Crowley, Thomas Cucchi, Tim Denham, Laurent Frantz, Dorian Fuller, Tom Gilbert, Elinor Karlsson, Aurélie Manin, Fiona Marshall, Natalie Mueller, Joris Peters, Charles Stépanoff, Alexander Weide & Greger Larson, World Archaeology, 1, 53, 2021-01-01, 56-77, Article Archaeology for Sustainable Agriculture Chelsea Fisher, Journal of Archaeological Research, 28, 2020-09, 393-441, Article Modeling Resilience and Sustainability in Ancient Agricultural Systems Marston, John M., Source: Journal of Ethnobiology, 3, 35, 2015-10, 585-605, Book Chapter Time, change and the archaeology of hunter-gatherers Rowley-Conwy, P, Rowley-Conwy and Layton, Time, change and the archaeology of hunter-gatherers, 11-26, Article The materiality of plants: plant–people entanglements Marijke van der Veen, World Archaeology, 46, 2014-10-20, Article In search of new realm. Metamodern and object-oriented ontology as two sides of same philosophy Heorhii Nezabytovskyiand Simon Radchenko, Kοινὴ. The Almanac of Philosophical Essays, 3, 2022, 40-50, Book Evidential Reasoning in Archaeology Chapman, R. and Wylie, A., Document Studies in Human-Thing entanglement (selfpublished), 2016, Book Chapter Power Requires Others David Fontijn, Power Requires Others, 90-105, isbn:978-1-316-51539-6; 978-1-00-904576-6, Article Collective Action in the Evolution of Pre-Modern States * Richard E. Blanton and Lane F. Fargher, Social evolution & History, 2009, Article Exploring landscapes of fear Background: landscapes of fear Gold, J.R. and Revill, G., Capital and class, 2003,

The course description is retrieved from FS (Felles studentsystem). Version 1